Yet to recover, Saina Nehwal not dwelling too much on No.1 ranking

Mar 23, 2015, 20:33 IST
|
PTI

Saina Nehwal, yet to recover from a shoulder pain, says she is not thinking of the world number one ranking despite having a good chance of achieving the feat at the India Open Super Series badminton tournament beginning here tomorrow

New Delhi: Saina Nehwal, yet to recover from a shoulder pain, says she is not thinking of the world number one ranking despite having a good chance of achieving the feat at the India Open Super Series badminton tournament beginning here tomorrow.

The world no.2 and tournament top speed Saina can scale the ranking peak by reaching the final of the USD 275,000 event. "It is important to do well in India Open. It is a big tournament. It won't be easy as many good players are coming.

I will try my best to win," Saina told PTI today. Asked about the prospect of becoming world no.1, Saina said: "I don't know much about the ranking calculations neither I am thinking about it too much. For me it is more about playing my game. I have said in the past as well that rankings don't matter to me much. The top priority is to win the tournament."

Saina should not have great difficulty in reaching the final where she is drawn to meet second seed and reigning world champion Carolina Marin of Spain. The fourth-ranked Spaniard too is in the race for the numero one spot. Saina beat Carolina to win the Syed Modi GP Gold before losing to her in the All England final. And another fierce battle between the two is on the cards.

Is Saina thinking about a rematch? "There is no point thinking about that. There will be many more times I will play against Carolina and if that happens here, so be it," she said.

On her shoulder paid, Saina said: "I am still recovering. I don't know how much time it will take for full recovery but I am ready to play my first match in the competition." Saina has never won the India Open ever since it was upgraded to a Super Series tournament in 2011.

Five-time world champion Lin Dan is another star attraction of the tournament. The legend from China is looking forward to playing in India.

"I am playing here for my fans globally. It is a great feeling to be playing here in India. I am practising hard for it. The environment is very friendly here," he said.